| Season Number: | 8 |
| Bgcolour: |
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| Starring: | Ted Danson Kirstie Alley Rhea Perlman John Ratzenberger Woody Harrelson Kelsey Grammer George Wendt |
| Num Episodes: | 26 |
| Network: | NBC |
| Episode List: | List of Cheers episodes |
The eighth season of Cheers, an American television sitcom, originally aired on NBC in the United States between September 21, 1989, and May 3, 1990. The show was created by director James Burrows and writers Glen and Les Charles under production team Charles Burrows Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Television.
At the 1990 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, this season won three Emmys: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Ted Danson), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Bebe Neuwirth), and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or Special. It also won the Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Kirstie Alley) at the 1991 48th Golden Globe Awards.
This season premiered on September 21, 1989, and aired on Thursdays at 9:00 pm Eastern / 8:00 pm Central. Besides Cheers, other series in NBC's Thursday night lineup for the 1989–90 season were The Cosby Show, A Different World, Dear John and L.A. Law. In January 1990, Dear John was shifted to Wednesdays, and the newer sitcom Grand took its spot.[1]
Recurring characters
See also: List of Cheers episodes.
Specials
In November 1989, actor Roger Rees told news agency Knight-Ridder Wire about Robin Colcord, the character whom Rees portrayed:
They needed a fillip, to give them a boost, someone to drive Sam [Malone] crazy. Robin's there to be dashing, sexy, irritating. He's not as charming and nice as he appears to be at first sight. He's sort of the villain of the piece. He's a megalomaniac millionaire. He's got an airline and a helicopter fleet. It's very much Donald Trump.[2]In January 1990, actor Rees said that he had not based "the character on anyone", despite "speculation that Colcord was a British version of Trump", wrote Phil Kloer of Cox News Service.[3]
Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly graded the season an A−, calling it "still awfully funny". He praised the supporting characters but criticizing the development of Sam Malone and Rebecca Howe.[4] Jeffrey Robinson of DVDTalk rated the season's content three-and-a-half stars out of five and its replay value four out of five.[5]
At the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards (1990), this season won three Emmys: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Ted Danson), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Bebe Neuwirth), and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or Special.[6] Before his eighth nomination and Emmy win, Danson had seven consecutive Emmy nominations for the role of Sam Malone, and a nomination for his leading role in a 1984 television film Something About Amelia.[7] Danson also won a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy) at the 47th (1990)[8] [9] and 48th Golden Globe Awards (1991).[10] [11] The 1990 season also won the Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Kirstie Alley) at the 48th Golden Globe Awards (1991).[12]
| Cheers: The Complete Eighth Season | ||||||
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| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||||
| June 13, 2006 | August 6, 2012 | April 27, 2009 | ||||
According to many newspapers, including the main source USA Today, the 1989–90 Nielsen ratings are based on 92.1 million households that have at least one television.